Tenderness Underneath it All
by Cassandra7
Summary: Malfoy makes a surprising announcement on the Hogwarts Express, but is he telling the truth? H/HR but maybe HR/D later.
1. Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter and co. I am not J.K. Rowling . This is not an infringement of copy right laws and I own only the plot.  
  
A/N: some people may object to the way I am going to portray Draco Malfoy. I know he is a snotty little rich boy but I think that he may be hiding under that exterior; don't flame me it's not worth it.  
  
SPOILERS FOR THE 5th BOOK–DON'T READ UNLESS YOU HAVE FINISHED ORDER OF THE PHOENIX!  
  
bTenderness Underneath it All/b  
  
Hermione Granger waited impatiently on the platform for her two best friends. It was the trio's sixth year and the events of the previous year were fresh in her mind. Hermione had wanted to spend the holidays at 12 Grimmauld place with Harry and Ron this year but her parents wanted to tour Italy instead. They thought that she needed a break from the stress of the wizarding world. She was glad that she had gotten to go to Italy and spend time with her parents but she felt guilty about leaving the two-especially Harry.   
  
Harry had faced Voldemort again last year and had lost his godfather in the battle. He had taken the loss of the closest thing he had to a father very hard. Hermione had wanted to be there to comfort him but he at least wasn't spending the holidays at the Dursley's. But the summer was finally over and she was going to be able to see her friends again.   
  
"Hermione!" she turned when she heard the two voices that she knew so well and gathered her two best friends into a hug.  
  
"Oh, I've missed you two so much! How are you?" she posed this question to both of them but was looking at Harry.   
  
"I'm fine, Mione," Harry said in a low voice but squeezed her hand so she would know that he was grateful for her concern. Hermione pulled him into another quick hug then released him and grabbed her trunk.  
  
"Let's get a compartment before they fill up," she marched to the train with Ron and Harry following along behind.   
  
They found an empty compartment in the back of the train. Not long after they had settled in; Harry and Ron playing Exploding Snap and Hermione buried in a book the door slid open and Draco Malfoy stood there with a smirk across his face. He had matured over the summer; his hair was no longer slicked back into a helmet but hung loose around his face, his muscles were well defined and he had grown four inches at least.   
  
"Potter, Weasley, Granger. I want to apologize for using my prefect power irresponsibly last year. And I'm sorry for how I treated you since the first year," the smirk had disappeared while he spoke and a sincere look had replaced it.  
  
"Right, nice try Malfoy. That was good-but not very believable," Ron said rising from his spot on the floor.   
  
"Weasley I've seen things over the summer that you cannot imagine," he said his smirk returning. "I saw such cruelty and pain that is beyond your scope of the world. I've experienced pain that you cannot even begin to comprehend. Most of it at the hands of my own father." The compartment went silent at these words.   
  
"What are you going to do now, Malfoy. Now that you know the pain the Voldemort, your father's master, can cause? Are you going to sit idly by now that you have had a tiny taste of my life," Harry stood up and walked over to Malfoy. "Will you stand by your father and his Lord?"  
  
Malfoy's face was a mix of pain and his old arrogance. "My father had disowned me Potter. I told him that I would not follow his Lord and I wouldn't cause suffering like he has caused me," he looked defiantly into Harry's eyes before turning to Hermione. "I will not cause more pain to the Muggle born of our world or to the Muggles of the non-magical world." 


	2. The Carriage Ride

Chapter Two  
  
The Carriage Ride  
  
When the train stopped at Hogsmeade station the trio expected Draco to find his friends  
  
and laugh at what they were sure was a trick. But instead he avoided the other Slytherins and  
  
stuck with the three Gryffindors. When Hermione looked to see how the other Slytherins were  
  
taking this she was surprised to see that they were pretending that Draco didn't exist.  
  
"What's going on Draco?" Hermione asked when Pansy Parkinson walked past clutching  
  
Blaise Zambini's arm. He seemed to be very happen with his new role of reigning Slytherin Ice  
  
Prince.   
  
"Well, when my father disowned me, he called the other Death Eaters to make sure that  
  
they didn't take me in. He called me a traitor to the family, the Death Eaters and his Lord. No  
  
self-respecting Slytherin would be caught talking to me or even looking at me now," Draco had  
  
been looking at the ground as he made this speech but now looked directly at Hermione. "I  
  
expect I'll have to find somewhere else to sleep in the castle now."  
  
Hermione felt an unexpected rush of sympathy and affection toward her once-enemy.   
  
Being disowned, having your friends turn on you, being kicked out of the dorm you've slept in  
  
for five years; she would never in a million years have wished all this agony and heartbreak even  
  
on him.   
  
Harry had been weighing Draco's words as he spoke. He listened for the sincerity and his  
  
eyes widened when he heard real emotion etched in his last sentence. "It's okay Draco we'll help  
  
you. You can sit with us at the feast and then we'll take you to see Dumbledore afterwards,"  
  
Harry threw an arm around Malfoy's shoulders and guided him to one of the horseless carriages.   
  
"Are you two serious? This is Draco Malfoy; archenemy of Harry Potter and a Slytherin!   
  
This has to be a trick. So you honestly think that he would reverse his position so easily. Do you  
  
guys not remember all the horrible stuff that he did to us; this is the guy that has always referred  
  
to you as a Mudblood Hermione, Harry this guy has tortured you since day one and I don't think  
  
anyone will ever forget the 'Weasley is our King' song. And then suddenly his daddy doesn't  
  
love him anymore and you guys want to take him in?!" Ron looked like he was about to have an  
  
aneurism.   
  
"Ron listen to him. No one can fake that kind of emotion. But I suppose that we should  
  
see what Dumbledore says before we invite him to Gryffindor Tower. But he can still sit with us  
  
at the feast, okay?" Hermione glared at Ron who had no choice but to agree.   
  
"Fine but he sits next to you guys," Ron stood up as the carriage came to a stop and threw  
  
himself out of the door and stalked up the stone steps. 


	3. The Welcoming Feast

Sorry about the last chapter–slight technical error. Thanks to everyone who reviewed;  
  
Vix-I think that Draco and Hermi would make a cute couple too, but I'm a dedicated H/HR shipper.   
  
Lisa-Chan– Nope Dracie isn't lying. I don't think that he will follow in the footsteps of his father or he'll turn out like Snape.  
  
Mirintala-yeah in this story his dad has a wicked temper that just pushed Draco over the edge.  
  
Observer-It will be HR/D but just for a little bit. Can't say much more.  
  
Manic Angst-sorry about the soap; I just wanted the first chapter to be really dramatic and dark.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
The Welcoming Feast  
  
Harry and Hermione watched Ron stalk up the steps and glanced at each other as he faded out of sight. Harry looked at Draco but he seemed to be lost in thought. The three of them walked up the stairs where they were confronted by McGonagall.  
  
"Well, I'm glad to see that even Gryffindors and Slytherins can get along. But I suppose you don't want to be a Slytherin anymore, eh Mr. Malfoy?" she raised her eyebrow and looked kindly at the slightly diminished young man.  
  
"No, Prof. But I don't want to be resorted in front of the school with the rest of the first years," he looked up and they saw the familiar arrogant look in his eyes.  
  
  
  
"No, we will allow you to chose your own House under these special circumstances. But I daresay that Prof. Dumbledore will want to speak with you before you choose. Come with me then," she said in her usual brisk manner and Draco, with only a parting glance at Harry and Hermione, followed.  
  
"What about the feast? Do you think that they'll postpone the feast?" Harry asked Hermione as they walked into the Great Hall.   
  
"No, here comes McGonagall with the first years and the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore will probably come in with Draco later," Harry told her as they sat down at Gryffindor table and he was greeted warmly by all. The events of last year had changed how people perceived him drastically.   
  
The Sorting took place as usual with only the absence of Dumbledore to distinguish it from the past Sortings. As soon as the last person had been sorted and McGonagall was taking her place among the teachers, the doors opened and in swept Dumbledore with Draco in tow. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione and they both just raised their eyebrows.   
  
"There has been a very large change over the summer in one of our students," Dumbledore spoke gravely addressing the students from the rear of the Hall. "It seems that Mr. Malfoy was given a choice this summer by his father. He chose to make his own path and not follow in his father's footsteps. Since there has never been a Slytherin to disobey their parents Mr. Malfoy feels that he no longer belongs in Slytherin. He has chosen a new House; a House that is quite the opposite of the one he no longer belongs to." At this all the Gryffindors began whispering and fell silent only when Dumbledore held up his hand so he could continue. Harry noticed that Draco no longer had the Slytherin crest on his robes but bore the scarlet and gold crest of Gryffindor. "Mr. Malfoy is now a resident of the noble House of Gryffindor."  
  
A hush went over the Hall. The Slytherins were looking at Draco with utmost loathing while the other Houses looked stunned. Dumbledore began a slow clap that echoed in the large room. No one else clapped and Draco did his best to feign indifference but Hermione knew better. Suddenly she stood up and clapped with Dumbledore. Following her lead, Harry and Ron stood up as well and clapped. Slowly the rest of the Gryffindors stood, followed by the Ravenclaws and finally the Hufflepuffs. No Slytherin stood but Draco didn't care. He hadn't expected them to anyway. But he hadn't expected Hermione of all people to be one of the first to clap for him. That knocked him off his feet.   
  
Harry looked round at Hermione as the applause slowly died out. He had never expected her to clap for the boy who had called her Mudblood for years. The fact that she could forget that and try to make him feel welcome caused Harry to feel a rush of affection for her that he had never felt before. 


	4. The Common Room

Chapter Four  
  
The Common Room  
  
The feast seemed to last forever for Draco and the Gryffindor trio. The Hall had buzzed with gossip and disbelief until they were too tired to talk about the startling development any longer. Dumbledore took this opportunity to declare the feast over and ask the Prefects to escort the now yawning students to bed. Hermione dragged a yawning Ron to the line of first years and started ushering them out of the Hall. Harry, Draco and the other upperclass students ambled up to the common room behind them.   
  
Draco stayed close to Harry because he had never ventured into Gryffindor territory before and was afraid that he would get hopelessly lost. After ten minutes of climbing staircases that seemed to stretch on he panted, "Where the bloody heck do you Gryffindors live anyway?"  
  
"Well, firstly you are a Gryffindor now, secondly the common room is at the top of Gryffindor Tower," he glanced at Draco's flushed face and then asked worriedly, "You okay?"  
  
"Yes, I just haven't climbed this many stairs in a while. Most of my classes aren't above the second floor, you know," he sucked in a deep breath and plowed on as they climbed the last flight of stairs.   
  
"Well, it's just down this corridor, but there is a staircase to climb so you can get to the dorms," Harry added the last bit hesitantly.  
  
"Is this whole school made of stairs. You don't have to climb this many to get to the dungeons for Merlin's sake!"  
  
"I know; it's only two flights.." Harry replied without thinking. He realized what he had said and looked at Draco.  
  
"How did you know that?" he asked with a suspicious note clear in his voice.  
  
"Well, do you remember in second year when Crabbe and Goyle were acting strangely and ran out of the common room to get medicine for Crabbe's stomach??" Harry winced, waiting for his reaction.  
  
Realization dawned on Draco's features as Harry described the night that Crabbe and Goyle had adamantly swore that they were locked in a broom closet. "You and Weasley used a Polyjuice Potion didn't you?"  
  
Harry nodded and waited for the explosion....but it didn't come. Instead Malfoy started laughing. "What's so funny?" Harry asked perplexedly.  
  
"Nothing-it's just that I yelled at those two for an hour later that night about pigging out in the Great Hall," he giggled in a very un-Slytherin way and Harry joined in. They had reached the common room and collapsed into two armchairs.   
  
When Draco had stopped laughing enough to speak he remarked to Harry , "This is much warmer than the dungeons. It's cozier too." He snuggled into the squashy armchair and looked over at Harry.   
  
"We need to get upstairs before Mione sees us still awake. She takes her duties seriously," Harry heaved himself out of the chair and helped Draco out of his.   
  
"Mmmm, sleeps sounds very good right now," the two climbed the stairs and walked into their dorm. The other boys were fast asleep, Harry pointed out a bed next to his that had been vacant since first year.   
  
"It's almost like Dumbledore knew that you would choose Gryffindor," Harry said before he fell asleep. Malfoy murmured agreement and was thinking about that as he slipped into the most peaceful slumber he had had in a long time. 


End file.
